Leave It Alone

While taking a breather from New York I flew home to Charleston to visit family and friends. On these short trips I try and make the most of my creative time by teaming up with friend and longtime collaborator Sean Emmel to record new music. Having flexed our music writing chops over the years our creative process has grown streamlined; we managed to work with some material he’d written and massage it into a song: arranging instrumentation, writing lyrics, and recording it in a few short hours. Musically collaborating gave me an excuse to write down some ideas that I’ve been tending for some time.

Professionally I spend my days thinking about what people do online and how it shapes their behavior. Studies have begun to be published that show that despite having thousands of "digital connections", people only have a few close friends. I’ve long thought about how some old friendships and relationships are now artificially preserved due to the convenience of social technology. While we were all quick to join in the social media gold rush only now are people beginning to critically question its larger effect on our lives.

I started wondering: as we "digital natives" grow older will we have the wisdom to sever ties to digital friendships and relationships that although easy to passively maintain have grown benign and obstruct personal growth? News reports are already beginning to report that younger teens are unimpressed by Facebook and are opting for alternatives, and I hope they’re rediscovering the benefits of actual face-to-face time within friendships. One can only have so many true friends I thought, and thus this song was written.

"Leave It Alone"

Shake hands it’s overLeft with the scars of yesterdayDust settled;A pauper’s prize.Know when enough’s enoughGive up orGive out?A word from the wisest side:

It’s not breathingThere’s no movementTime to leave it aloneYelling in the windHoarse and voicelessTime to leave it alone